If the transmission of a vehicle becomes damaged, it is normally not possible to verify the load with which the vehicle was operated. In particular, a possible overloading of the vehicle cannot be verified. Such information may be necessary in assessing possibly existing guarantee claims. Guarantee claims are normally linked to compliance with a maximum acceptable load. If a vehicle is overloaded, the guarantee claims are typically voided.
A further problem associated with the loading of a vehicle includes difficulty related to the predictability of the remaining lifetime of the transmission. This predictability is correlated with the load with which the vehicle has been operated in the past.
Certain prior art references teach defining various transmissions settings based on the weight of a vehicle and detecting a change from one weight range to the next. It is further known to calculate and plot the masses of a vehicle over time. For example, EP 2 933 614 A1 discloses a method for determining a change in the current weight on the basis of a rolling resistance and a mass history of a vehicle. DE 10 2013 220 604 A1 teaches to store the current and load-dependent vehicle mass in a telematic detection system in a vehicle. One or more input and output devices can be connected to the detection system, with which data can be read out. It is specified in DE 10 2009 002 387 A1 that the vehicle mass can be calculated by way of a transmission control device of a vehicle on the basis of topographical data. WO 2014/126523 A1 contains a method for calculating and plotting the mass of a vehicle over time. From US 2012/259536 A2 it is known to determine, continuously or in intervals, the overall mass of a vehicle at the start.
However, the prior art does not teach certain aspects of this disclosure, including that a vehicle mass can be recorded as a function of time over the lifetime of a transmission. Instructions for detecting individual weight ranges in which the vehicle has been operated as a function of time also cannot be found in the prior art.